Linux Wireless compatibility package ===================================== This is a Linux wireless compatibility package which provides the latest Linux wireless subsystem enhancements for kernels 2.6.24 and above. It is technically possible to support kernels < 2.6.24 but more work is required for that. It also provides Linux bluetooth subsystem enhancements for kernels 2.6.27 and above. With a local git repository you can update the compatibility package yourself. For more information on how to do this please refer the Developers section below. Documentation ------------ This package is also documented online and has more-up-to date information online than on this README file. You should read the wiki page and not rely on this README: http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Download Subscribe to the wiki page to get updates on the documentation. Where to get the latest ----------------------- This package lets you build your own 'latest', all you need is a local git repository. The process is documented in the Developers section of this document. However since not many users are expected to keep a local git repository we provide daily snapshots of this package + the wireless and bluetooth subsystem code. You can find the latest snapshot at: linux-next.git version: http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Download stable version: http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Download/stable/ Versions -------- There are two different versions of this package available. * Version based on latest linux-next.git tree named compat-wireless-YYYY-MM-DD.tar.bz2 * Version based on linux-2.6-stable.git tree named compat-wireless-2.6.CC.DD.tar.bz2 Both versions should work for every kernel > 2.6.24. The differences are the code they are containing. The version based on linux-next.git contains the wireless and bluetooth subsystem out of linux-next.git and the stable version the wireless subsystem out of the corresponding linux stable version. Selecting your driver --------------------- If you know the driver you want you can select it with our helper script: ./scripts/driver-select Run that script to see more information. Not all drivers are currently enabled via driver-select. Building, and installing ------------------------ Build: compile the latest linux wireless subsystem make Install: We use the updates/ directory so your distribution's drivers are left intact. sudo make install Uninstall: This nukes our changes to updates/ so you can go back to using your distribution's supported drivers. sudo make uninstall Load: Reboot unless you know what you are doing. (Usually modprobe 'driver-name' is the way to go) Bluetooth modules can be separately compiled and installed using below commands Bluetooth drivers are also available via ./scripts/driver-select Build: make bt Install: sudo make btinstall Uninstall: sudo make btuninstall Unload: sudo make btunload Load: modprobe driver-name. If unsure, reboot. Drivers ------- This is the list of drivers the package currently provides. It adds all new drivers or drivers which keep being updated which you might be interested in. Drivers list: adm8211 ar9170usb at76c50x-usb ath5k ath6kl ath9k ath9k_htc b43 b43legacy b44 carl9170 brcm80211 ipw2100 ipw2200 iwl3945 iwlagn iwlcore iwmc3200wifi libertas libertas_cs libertas_sdio libertas_spi libertas_tf libertas_tf_usb libipw mwl8k orinoco_cs orinoco_nortel orinoco_pci orinoco_plx orinoco_tld orinoco_usb orinoco p54common p54pci p54spi p54usb rt2400pci rt2500pci rt2500usb rt2800pci rt2800usb rt61pci rt73usb rtl8180 rtl8187 rtlwifi rtl8192ce spectrum_cs ssb wl1251 wl12xx zd1211rw This package also provides more drivers which may be documented here For a complete list see: http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Download Non-wireless drivers -------------------- Atheros Ethernet drivers: atl1 atl1c atl1e atl2 To support b43 ssb is also provided, and since ssb is also provided we provide b44 (the ethernet driver). The new rfkill drivers also provided and backported. Bluetooth drivers: ath3k bcm203x bluecard_cs bluetooth bnep bpa10x bt3c_cs btmrvl btmrvl_sdio btsdio btusb btuart_cs cmtp dtl1_cs hidp hci_vhci hci_uart l2cap rfcomm sco Firmware: --------- If your driver needs firmware please be sure to check the driver page for that driver here: http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers Why? ---- For users or developers stuck on older kernels that want to help test or patch wireless work. Additionally if you're on a recent kernel this lets you get the latest and greatest linux-next git work without much effort. This may mean new drivers for some users. Last but not least we hope this will encourage vendors and developers to post patches upstream first rather than forking or maintaining their own mac80211 releases with their own patches for their own drivers. Building for external kernels ---------------------------------- If you have a kernel you do not have installed but yet want to build the compat-wireless-2.6 drivers for it you can use this syntax: make KLIB=/home/mcgrof/kernels/linux-2.6.23.9 KLIB_BUILD=/home/mcgrof/kernels/linux-2.6.23.9 If you have a kernel installed, which is not your currently running kernel (e.g. via distro updates; plus its corresponding kernel-dev package), you can use this syntax: make KLIB=/lib/modules/2.6.30.6-53.fc11.x86_64 and to install to your system's root path for the non-running kernel: make KLIB=/lib/modules/2.6.30.6-53.fc11.x86_64 KMODPATH_ARG='INSTALL_MOD_PATH=' install Bugs ----- If you've found a bug please report it to our linux-wireless mailing list: linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org Report the bug if you are working with the latest and greatest. If your bug is compatibility-related then we should still try to fix it within the compat.[ch] work. ChangeLog --------- Here you see the list of changes to all wireless drivers, the wireless core and mac80211. http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/linville/wireless-testing.git;a=log; This views all the changes on wireless-testing.git. License ------- This work is a subset of the Linux kernel as such we keep the kernel's Copyright practice. Some files have their own copyright and in those cases the license is mentioned in the file. All additional work made to building this package is licensed under the GPLv2. Developers ---------- Compatibility work goes into compat/compat.[ch]. If using those files do not suffice additional actual code changes can go into patches/*.patch. An extended and more up to date version can be found at: http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Download/hacking This section deals with development details of compat-wireless and the other trees it uses. If you want to make your own compat-wireless tarballs, or if you see something busted with compat-wireless or just want to add something new or an enhancement this is the guide for you. Git trees you will need ----------------------- compat-wireless backports both the bluetooth and 802.11 subsystems down to older kernels. To be able to synchronize backporting the latest and greatest the linux-next.git tree is used as its main source for kernel updates. General Linux kernel compatibility is addressed through a general kernel compatibility tree, compat.git. compat-wireless then has its own tree for specific wireless compatibility. You will then need to checkout three trees to start hacking on compat-wireless: git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/next/linux-next.git git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/mcgrof/compat.git git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/mcgrof/compat-wireless-2.6.git Linux next ---------- The linux-next.git tree brings all subsystems being worked on for the next kernel release into one tree. So if the current rc kernel is 2.6.33-rc5, this means linux-next will have what people today are working on for the 2.6.34 kernel release. compat.git ---------- The compat git tree is a general kernel compatibility layer which can be shared amongst different compatibility projects, or drivers. compat-wireless is just one of the kernel compatibility projects using compat.git. compat.git builds a general compatibility module, compat, and any additional modules to let you get new general kernel updates from future kernels on your old kernels. compat.git modules ------------------ compat.git provides a few modules and headers to help with general kernel compatibility. compat ------ Provides all exported symbols implemented in each respective kernel compat-2.6.xy.c files. Upon module load it just initializes the Linux kernel's ''power management Quality Of Service'' (aka '''pm-qos''') Interface interface added as of the 2.6.24 kernel. No other things are initialized, the rest of the compat module just acts as a library of exported symbols. compat_firmware_class --------------------- Another module which compat.git provides is a backport of the firmware_class module which got updated recently newer with a new request_firmware_nowait() to allow better asynchronous firmware uploading. This was added as of the 2.6.33 kernel. The firmware_class module has been backported into a new module called compat_firmware_class. A separate module has been defined instead of a direct replacement for firmware_class since your system may have old drivers which use the old request_firmware_nowait() and would bust if they used the new request_firmware_nowait(). The compat_firmware_class module registers its own sysfs subsystem and as such also gets udev events sent through a separate subsystem. Because of this a new udev rules file is required and provided. compat-wireless.git ------------------- Anything that is not general kernel compatibility but instead specific to 802.11 or bluetooth goes into compat-wireless.git. After you've cloned all three trees, linux-next.git, compat.git and compat-wireless.git you need to change into the compat-wireless directory and tell compat-wireless where you linux-next and compat.git trees are. You do this with environment variables GIT_TREE and GIT_COMPAT_TREE. You can do for example: export GIT_TREE=/home/user/wireless-testing/ export GIT_COMPAT_TREE=/home/users/compat.git/ Then you can update your local sources based on these linux-next.git and compat.git trees: scripts/admin-clean.sh - Cleans the compat-wireless-2.6 tree scripts/admin-update.sh - Updates compat-wireless-2.6 with your git tree scripts/admin-refresh.sh - Does the above two Adding new drivers ------------------ Most new drivers are enabled for compilation. If see a driver you would like enabled try it into the mix, test them and if they work enable them and send the respective patches. Sending patches --------------- Remember there are three trees. linux-next itself is a conglomeration of kernel git trees itself, so patches for linux-next.git should be sent to each respective subsystem for which the patches are targeted for. So for example for 802.11 you will want to send them to John Linville and cc linux-wireless, for further guidelines on this see the Submitting Patches guidelines for 802.11. http://wireless.kernel.org/en/developers/Documentation/SubmittingPatches As another example, for bluetooth you will want to send them to Marcel Holtmann and cc the linux-bluetooth mailing list. If your patch touches on others areas of the kernel refer to the MAINTAINERS file on the kernel. For compat.git and compat-wireless.git please send patches against to: To: Luis R. Rodriguez CC: linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org, linux-bluetooth@vger.kernel.org Subject: [PATCH] compat-2.6: fix foo For patches for compat.git please use a subject like the following: Subject: [PATCH] compat: fix foo For compat-wireless.git please use a subject like the following: Subject: [PATCH] compat-wireless: fix foo Patches are preferred sent with a clear commit log entry, if unfamiliar with how to send patches please refer to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/developers/Documentation/git-guide. TODO ----- * Dialog (make menuconfig) option for this package * Compatibility work for 2.6.18 --> 2.6.24